Methane is best known as a potent greenhouse gas, but in the deep sea, it actually supports life! Find out how WHOI’s autonomous vehicle Sentry explores natural cracks in the seafloor where rarely-seen organisms convert methane into energy. 🤿 Dive in with Oceanus: go.whoi.edu/atlanticseeps

This "mega coral" is quietly thriving in the South Pacific! Spanning an area about the size of two basketball courts near the Solomon Islands, the Pavona clavus colony is thought to be over 300 years old. 📲Dive into discovery: go.whoi.edu/megacoral

R/V Atlantis returned to Woods Hole this week after the @rcgssgrc.bsky.social mission to survey historic wrecks in the Labrador Sea! As part of the @unols.bsky.social U.S. Academic Research Fleet, Atlantis is the support vessel for HOV Alvin and a floating lab for scientists and technicians.

🤔Are corals animals, vegetables, or minerals? ⁠ Those hard reef structures are actually colonies of tiny, soft-bodied organisms. They host symbiotic algae that keep them fed and give them their distinctive color. 🪸🐠⁠

Join WHOI researcher Julia Guimond and educator Lauren Kurzius live from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, as they investigate how rising seas, storms, and changing Arctic conditions are reshaping the Beaufort Sea coastline. 📲Watch the @polarsteamteam.bsky.social livestream at 11am PST: go.whoi.edu/polar-steam

Decades after they were lost beneath the Labrador Sea, the wrecks of Quest and Terra Nova were documented in remarkable detail! An ROV camera (provided by the NSF-funded OOI) captured high-res images & 3D reconstructions, preserving these historic polar vessels for generations to come.

WHOI technology is bringing polar history into sharper focus! During a recent expedition led by the @rcgssgrc.bsky.social, researchers created 3D models and captured new images of the historic Terra Nova and Quest shipwrecks. See more from @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social: go.whoi.edu/cbc-ships

Announcing the WHOI Schiller Center for Reef Solutions, a bold new vision for the future of coral reefs. This virtual center leverages wide-ranging expertise to accelerate research, innovation, and community engagement in support of coral reefs worldwide. Learn more: go.whoi.edu/schiller-center

It’s Coral Reef Awareness Week! 🪸 Reefs play vital role in the ocean food web. Protecting them starts with sound science. 👉🏽Find out how you can support reefs, now and into the future: whoi.edu/reefs

The East Australian Current isn't just a Finding Nemo plot point. 🐟🐢 The EAC is one of the ocean's major highways, carrying warm water southward along the Australian coast and driving circulation across the entire Pacific basin. 📲Follow the currents: go.whoi.edu/ocean-world

New merchandise alert 👀 The WHOI Crew Neck Sweatshirt is a great companion for the brisk mornings by the ocean or the late-night bonfire. 👉 Support ocean science in style: go.whoi.edu/crewneck-logo

🗓️ Save the date for the Woods Hole Science Stroll on August 8! 🔬With 12+ science non-profits represented, the whole family will enjoy exploring the research, technology, boats, and maritime history that make this small village world-renowned. 📲 Plan your day at woodsholesciencestroll.org!

🦈 Basking sharks are known for grazing on small fish & zooplankton at the surface, but a recent WHOI study shows that they may be 1,000+ meters to find prey in the mid-ocean twilight zone! 📲Dive deeper with @wcai-npr.bsky.social: go.whoi.edu/cai-sharks

With soft bones and translucent skin, snailfish might not seem like the toughest fish on the planet. But at 6,000+ meters deep, these fish thrive under pressure great enough to flatten a tank. 👉Find out how being "squishy" can actually be a survival tactic: go.whoi.edu/squishysurvivor

Underrated? A little. Essential? Absolutely. The Brazil Current is the South Atlantic's western boundary current, carrying warm water southward and driving circulation across an entire ocean basin. It doesn't have Gulf Stream's PR team, but WHOI scientists know it's doing the same critical work.

What can the ocean teach us about outer space? It turns out, understanding how life thrives in the deep sea could inform where to look for life on icy worlds beyond our planet. 📲Take a deep dive into inner space with @wcai-npr.bsky.social: go.whoi.edu/tp-invow

Fascinated by sharks? 🤩🦈✨ Wear your passion for these apex predators on your sleeve while supporting WHOI's marine research! 📲Grab yours before they all get snapped up: go.whoi.edu/sharks-collection

💣In 1974, while filming JAWS on nearby Martha’s Vineyard, Hollywood came to Woods Hole for help with their blasting permit. Thanks to his expertise in seismic research, WHOI's Dick Edwards knew exactly how to plant dynamite in the shark prop, creating that unforgettable explosive scene.

Before satellites and computer models, ocean currents were illustrated using chalk and blackboards! This rotating blackboard globe was a prime tool used by WHOI oceanographer Henry Stommel, who is best known for his groundbreaking work on ocean circulation. Learn more: go.whoi.edu/Artifacts

If a ship falls to the seafloor and nobody sees it, how do we know what happened? 🤔 📲From the Titanic to a current shipwreck survey led by @cangeo.bsky.social, learn how we’re accelerating the pace of discovery with high-tech eyes on the deep: go.whoi.edu/oceaneyes

Get to know the Kuroshio Current, the Gulf Stream’s Pacific counterpart! ⁠🌀 ⁠ This western boundary current transports warm water northward from the tropics to the eastern coasts of the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan, cooling as it reaches the Northeast Pacific. 🗺️ Natalie Renier/WHOI Creative

Interested in sharing your ocean-related mission on the world stage at the UN’s biggest climate conference? Join WHOI and @scrippsocean.bsky.social at the @cop31.bsky.social #OceanPavilion! 📲Get details & apply by 8/14: oceanpavilion-cop.org/expression-of-interest #COP31

How can sharks help improve climate forecasts?! 🦈 Scientists usually rely on satellites, buoys, and floating profilers to monitor ocean conditions, but now sharks are helping fill data gaps! 📲Get the story from @wlrnnews.bsky.social: go.whoi.edu/wlrn-shark 📸 Nola Schoder/University of Miami

On July 2, R/V Atlantis departed Woods Hole on a WHOI-@rcgssgrc.bsky.social mission to document two historic shipwrecks tied to polar explorers Sir Ernest Shackleton & Capt. Robert Falcon Scott. 📲Read about this historic research cruise—and follow us for updates! go.whoi.edu/heroic-age-research

It may be summer vacation, but for fish, schooling is year-round! Schooling helps fish dodge predators, find food, and even save energy by riding each other’s wake! So, how do hundreds of fish move with such coordination? Dive deeper into the science of fish schooling: go.whoi.edu/schooling

Ever since a major upgrade in 2021, the WHOI-operated human-occupied submersible Alvin has been able to dive to 6500 meters (~4 miles) depth. That means it can bring humans to 99% of the ocean—including these areas of scientific interest.⁠ 👉Get to know Alvin: go.whoi.edu/alvin

Supporting ocean science with a day at the beach 🏖️ Our big fluffy beach towel is a perfect companion for summer. Made with 100% soft cotton, it’ll be a staple of your on-the-water adventures for years to come! 👉 Support ocean science, one beach day at a time: go.whoi.edu/towel

Happy Fourth of July from all of us at Woods Hole Oceanographic! 📸: The Statue of Liberty welcomes R/V Atlantis to New York City during its first year of service in 1997. Owned by the Office of Naval Research, Atlantis supports the deep-sea sub #Alvin.

The Gulf Stream like you’ve never seen it before! Some scientists are concerned the Gulf Stream could be slowing down, with potential ramifications for the global climate. 🤔Is that happening? Get the facts: go.whoi.edu/GulfStreams

A new study led by MIT-WHOI joint program student Jaida Elcock shows that basking sharks pick up prey in the ocean twilight zone— about 1,000 meters or 3,300 feet below the surface—providing insight into how to protect this endangered species. 📲Catch the full story: go.whoi.edu/whdh-bsharks